Self regulating chessboard

ABSTRACT

A chessboard having a playing platform and a stage or table which together maintain the flatness of the playing platform despite changing humidity conditions is disclosed. The playing platform is fabricated from a plurality of wooden pieces that are cut to exhibit a radial grain, and adhered to adjacent wooden pieces so that the radial grain has a mirrored image to the immediately adjacent wooden piece. The playing platform is allowed to expand and contract without placing undue pressure on the stage or table, and vice versa (i.e., unconstrained).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. Pat. App. Ser. No. 61/844,264 filed on Jul. 9, 2013, the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

The various embodiments discussed herein relate to a chessboard.

Chessboards are fabricated from various materials. High end chessboards are preferably fabricated from wood. Unfortunately, wood expands and contracts as a function of humidity, grain direction and type of wood. As such, the chessboard fabricated from wood may warp or buckle as the chessboard experiences changing humidity conditions.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved chessboard.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The various embodiments and aspects discussed herein address the needs discussed above, discussed below and those that are known in the art.

A chessboard having a playing platform and a stage is disclosed which maintains the flatness of the playing platform despite changing humidity conditions. The playing platform may be fabricated from a plurality of square wooden pieces with major surfaces exhibiting radial grain. Each adjacent wooden piece is oriented in a mirror fashion so that any lateral, upward, and/or downward movement in each wooden piece is reflected by equal and opposite expansion and contraction of the immediately adjacent wooden piece. The playing platform may be mounted to the stage with a plurality of clips secured to the playing platform and inserted into a groove formed on the interior of the stage so that expansion and contraction of the playing platform does not place undue pressure on the stage, and the stage does not place undue pressure on the playing platform which might cause buckling or the loss of flatness.

More particularly, a chessboard having a playing platform, stage and first through fourth clips is disclosed. The playing platform may have a plurality of square pieces of wood arranged in a square configuration. The plurality of square pieces of wood may be laterally attached to each other to form a flat chessboard playing surface. The stage may have four sides disposed on four sides of the playing platform. An interior side of the stage may have a groove. The first clip may be attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform on a first side of the playing platform with a first tab of the first clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a first side of the stage. The second clip may be attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform on a second side of the playing platform with a second tab of the second clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a second side of the stage. The third clip may be attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform on a third side of the playing platform with a third tab of the third clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a third side of the stage. The fourth clip may be attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform on a fourth side of the playing platform with a fourth tab of the fourth clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a fourth side of the stage.

The first, second, third and fourth clips permit unconstrained expansion and contraction of the playing platform in the X-Y plane, due to environmental changes to maintain flatness of the playing platform. One or more first, second, third and fourth clips may be used to connect the stage and the playing platform.

The plurality of square pieces of wood may include sixty-four squares pieces of wood. Thirty two square pieces of wood of the sixty-four pieces may have a first color. Thirty two square pieces of wood of the sixty-four pieces may have a second color which is different from the first color.

In addition to or in lieu of the first through fourth clips or multiples thereof, four corner clips may be disposed at the four corners of the stage and playing platform. Each of the corner clips may be disposed within the grooves formed in the interior sides of each corner of the stage. Also, each of the corner clips may be attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform.

Each of the sixty-four pieces of wood define a longitudinal grain direction which are aligned parallel to each other. Lateral pieces of wood may be bonded to each other so that immediately adjacent pieces of wood are positioned with the grains of the exposed surface in a mirrored orientation. The pieces of wood may be cut to exhibit a radial grain. The radial grain is herein defined as an average slope of the tangential grain being 30 degrees or less (preferably 20 degrees or less) to a perpendicular line drawn from a transverse section of the piece of wood.

The groove of the stage is formed at an inner peripheral side of the stage. The stage may have a platform engaging surface upon which a mating portion of the playing platform engages (i.e., rests upon).

In another aspect, a method of manufacturing a chessboard is disclosed. The method may comprise the steps of selecting sixty-four square pieces of wood; attaching the sixty-four square pieces of wood together in a 8×8 square configuration to form a playing platform; forming a stage that peripherally surrounds the playing platform; and securing the playing platform to the stage while allowing for unconstrained lateral expansion and contraction of the playing platform to mitigate warping of the playing platform due to environmental changes.

The selecting step may include the step of selecting only wood pieces that exhibit a radial grain in the lateral transverse sections. The attaching step may include the step of aligning the radial grains in a mirror configuration with the immediately adjacent piece of wood. The securing step may include the step of attaching a clip to the playing platform and inserting a tab of the clip into a groove formed in an interior side of the stage.

In another aspect, a playing platform of a chessboard is disclosed. The platform may comprise sixty four square pieces of wood cut to expose a radial grain upon its surface. The pieces may be arranged in an 8×8 pattern with the longitudinal grains parallel to each other. Adjacent pieces of wood may be arranged so that the radial grains of the exposed grain surface are oriented in a mirror configuration. The pieces of wood may be attached (e.g., bonded) to each other.

Thirty two of the sixty four square pieces of wood may have a first color. Thirty two of the sixty four square pieces of wood have a second color. The sixty four pieces of wood may be arranged to have alternating first and second colors.

The sixty four square pieces of wood of alternating color may be bonded to each other to form the playing platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a chessboard;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a playing platform of the chessboard shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the chessboard shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top view of a corner of a stage of the chessboard shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the chessboard shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged bottom view of a corner of the stage of the chessboard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, a wooden chessboard 10 is shown. The wooden chessboard 10 may undergo changes between humid and dry conditions yet still maintain a flat playing surface 12. The chessboard 10 includes a playing platform 14 and a stage 16. The playing platform 14 is designed and mounted to the stage 16 so that expansion and contraction in the lateral grain direction “X” is unconstrained while movement in the vertical direction is constrained so that regardless of whether the chessboard 10 undergoes changes in humidity, the expansion and contraction of the playing platform 14 is minimized and any expansion and contraction that does occur is regulated to maintain flatness of the playing surface 12. Expansion and contraction transverse to the lateral grain direction “Y” is minimized by selection of the wood and the grain, as discussed below.

More particularly, referring now to FIG. 1, the chessboard 10 may have two major sections, namely, the (1) playing platform 14 which is secured to the (2) stage 16 in such a manner tha the playing platform 14 remains unconstrained in the X-Y plane while the Z axis is constrained. The playing platform 14 may be fabricated from a plurality of square shaped wooden pieces 18. For a chessboard 10 having a standard chessboard pattern, the playing platform 14 is fabricated from sixty-four square shaped wooden pieces 18. Thirty-two of the square shaped wooden pieces 18 may have a first color. The remaining thirty-two square shaped wooden pieces 18 may have a second color. The first color may be lighter than the second color, or vice versa. The first and second colors may be determined by the type of wood selected for the first and second sets of square wooden pieces 18. By way of example and not limitation, the light-colored wooden pieces 18 may be fabricated from white ash or maple. The dark colored wooden pieces 18 may be fabricated from black walnut. Additionally or alternatively, the difference in colors between the first and second sets of wooden pieces 18 may be derived from a staining process. In this event, the first and second sets of wooden pieces 18 may be fabricated from the same type of wooden material but stained differently to achieve the first and second colors. Preferably, the first and second sets of square wooden pieces 18 are fabricated from two different types of wooden material that produce a light-colored set of wooden pieces 18 for the first set of thirty-two wooden pieces 18 and a darker colored set of wooden pieces 18 for the second set of wooden pieces 18.

The types of wood selected for the first and second sets of square wooden pieces 18 may be selected so that radial shrinkage between the first and second sets of square wooden pieces 18 is less than 2 percentage points (preferably 1% or less) to each other and tangential shrinkage is less than 2.5 percentage points (preferably 2.1% or less). The following data is the approximate shrinkage as a percent of green dimension, from green to oven-dry moisture content. Black walnut has a tangential shrinkage of 7.8% and a radial shrinkage of 5.5%. White ash has a tangential shrinkage of 7.8% and a radial shrinkage of 4.9%. Hard maple has a tangential shrinkage of 9.9% and a radial shrinkage of 4.8%. Any two of these types of wooden materials may be used for the first and second sets of square wooden pieces 18. Preferably, the first set is fabricated from black walnut which has a tangential shrinkage of 7.8% and a radial shrinkage of 5.5%. The second set is fabricated from white ash which has a tangential shrinkage of 7.8% and a radial shrinkage of 4.9%.

The individual wooden pieces 18 are aligned to each other so that the longitudinal grains are parallel with respect to each other. In FIG. 2, directional arrow 19 indicates the direction of the longitudinal grain of the wooden pieces 18. All of the individual wooden pieces 18 are arranged so that the longitudinal grains are oriented in the same direction. The first and second sets of wooden pieces 18 are arranged in a standard chessboard fashion. Additionally, the wooden pieces 18 are cut so as to exhibit a radial grain exposure. To determine if the wooden piece 18 has a radial grain exposure, the end (transverse section) 20 is inspected. If the average tangential grain is within 30° from perpendicular, and more preferably within 20° from perpendicular, then the wood piece 18 may be categorized having an exposed radial grain. By selecting and/or cutting the wood pieces 18 to have a radial grain exposure, lateral contraction and expansion of the wood pieces 18 in the X-Y plane is minimized compared to wood pieces 18 having a tangential grain exposure or rift grain exposure.

The wooden pieces 18 may be arranged so that the radial grain exposures of immediately adjacent wooden pieces 18 have a minor orientation. In particular, wooden piece 18 a has a radial grain that curves to the right, whereas, wooden piece 18 b has a radial grain that curves to the left. Wooden piece 18 c has a radial grain that curves to the right. Wooden piece 18 d has a radial grain that curves to the left. By arranging the wooden pieces 18 to have a mirror image configuration, the playing surface 12 remains flat despite movement of the wooden pieces 18 when the chessboard 10 experiences changes in humidity. More particularly, any upward or downward movement within transverse section 18 a is oppositely matched and reflected in 18 b in such a manner as to minimize shear stress at the bonding interface. Similarly, shear stresses are minimized at all bonding planes throughout the entire platform.

Preferably, each adjacent wooden piece 18 is oriented so that the grain is mirrored to the immediately adjacent wooden piece 18. However, it is also contemplated that the grains may be mirrored for every two or more wooden pieces 18. By way of example and not limitation, the first and second wooden piece 18 may have the grains in the same orientation. The third and fourth wooden pieces 18 may have the grains in the mirrored orientation compared to the first and second wooden pieces 18.

The wooden pieces 18 may be attached to adjacent wooden pieces. By way of example and not limitation, the wooden pieces 18 may be laterally attached to adjacent wooden pieces with adhesive or other attaching or bonding technologies known in the art or developed in the future. The upper and lower surfaces of the playing platform 14 may be sanded to a particular flatness. Also, nest 22 may be formed so that a periphery of the playing platform 14 may overhang the stage 16.

The stage 16 may be fabricated from four pieces of wood 24 a-d. The opposed ends of the wood pieces 24 may be mitered and joined to each other with glue (i.e. adhesive) and a spline 26 (see FIG. 4). The exterior surface of the stage 16 is shown in FIG. 4 as having a unique carving for aesthetic purposes but the exterior surface may also have any other shape such as a square off shape shown in FIG. 1. Each of the pieces of wood 24 of the stage 16 may have a corresponding nest 28 (see FIG. 3). The nests 22, 28 may be formed on all four exterior sides of the playing platform 14 as well as on all four interior sides of the stage 16.

The bottom surface 30 of the playing platform 14 contacts an upwardly directed surface 32 of the stage 16. The interface therebetween defines the contacting surfaces 34, 36 of the playing platform 14 and the stage 16. The playing platform 14 rests upon the contact surface(s) 36 of the stage 16 defined by the upwardly directed surface 32 of the nest 28 in the stage 16. In FIG. 3, a downwardly directed surface 38 of the nest 22 is shown as being in contact with an upper surface 40 of the stage 16. However, this is not necessary. A gap may also exist therebetween so that the only contact between the playing platform 14 of the stage 16 is at the contacting surfaces 34, 36.

The playing platform 14 may be secured to the stage 16 to allow for unconstrained expansion and contraction in the X and Y directions by securing the playing platform 14 to the stage 16 with a plurality of clips 42 that engage the bottom surface 30 of the playing platform and a groove 44 formed in the stage 16. As shown in FIG. 5, the clips 42 may be secured to all four sides of the playing platform 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the clips 42 may have an S-shaped configuration and be secured to the bottom surface 30 of the playing platform 14 with the screw or other mechanical fastener 46. The other end of the clip 42 is slidingly disposed within the groove 44.

Referring now to FIG. 5, one or more first clip, second clip, third clip, fourth clip 42 a-d may be secured to the first side, second side, third side, fourth side of the playing platform 14 and the stage 16. Preferably, each of the sides of the playing platform 14 and the stage 16 has two equally spaced apart first through fourth clips 42 a-d, as shown. Additionally, it is also contemplated that only the first and third clips 42 a, c or the second and fourth clips 42 b, d may be used to secure the playing platform 14 to the stage 16.

The distal end 56 of the clip 42 does not contact the inner surface 58 of the groove 44. This allows the playing platform 14 to expand and not place pressure on the stage 16, and vice versa. The stage 16 does not place pressure on the playing platform 14 which may cause the playing platform 14 to buckle (i.e., lose its flatness).

Referring now to FIG. 6, the playing platform 14 and the stage 16 may be attached to each other with a corner clip 48. The corner clip 48 may have a flat triangular configuration that fits within the groove 44 formed in the inner periphery of the stage 16. After inserting the corner clip 48 into the grooves 44 of the stage 16, a screw 50 is inserted into a hole 52 of the corner clip 48. The screw 50 is tightened until light pressure is applied to the stage 16 by the corner clip 48. The space between the playing platform 14 and the corner clip 48 has a gap where the threads of the screw 50 are visible. To hide the threads, a grommet 54 may be used to hide the threads from view. As shown in FIG. 5, each of the four corners of the stage 16 has a corner clip 48. The distal edges 60 of the clips 48 and the inner surface 58 of the groove 40 do not contact each other to allow for the playing platform 14 to expand and not place pressure on the stage 16, and vice versa. The stage 16 does not place pressure on the playing platform 14 which may cause the playing platform to buckle (i.e., lose its flatness).

The playing surface 12 may hold to a flatness measured by the following technique. If there is a minor rise in the central area of the playing surface 12, a straight edge may be laid upon the playing surface 12, corner to corner diagonally and/or corner to corner parallel, to and ½ inch inside the outer edges. One side of the straight edge contacts the playing surface 12, while the other end is lifted up due to the minor rise. A measurement of a gap between the straight edge and the playing surface 12 may be taken. The measured dimension of the gap may be divided by two to determine the minor rise. If there is a minor dip in the central area of the playing surface 12, the straight edge may be laid upon the playing surface 12, corner to corner diagonally and/or corner to corner, parallel to and ½ inch inside the outer edges of the playing platform 14. The gap between the straight edge and the central area is then measured directly. By implementing or incorporating the various aspects discussed herein in relation to the chessboard 10, a flatness of within 1 mm is achieved, even despite transporting the chessboard 10 between humid and arid conditions.

The various aspects and embodiments discussed herein are discussed in relation to a standalone chessboard 10. However, the various aspects and embodiments discussed herein may be applied to a chessboard integrated into a table wherein the upper surface of the table forms the stage 16. The playing platform 14 is mounted to the table top (i.e., stage) in the manner discussed above. Additionally, the various aspects and embodiments may be applied to other wood projects requiring a flat surface or a flat surface incorporated into a frame (stage, table, etc.).

It is also possible to mount the wooden platform as described above to a stage 16 or table constructed of materials other than wood such as various metals or composites.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of attaching adjacent pieces of wood. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A chessboard comprising: a playing platform having a plurality of square pieces of wood arranged in a square configuration, the plurality of square pieces of wood being laterally attached to each other to form a flat chessboard playing surface; a stage having four sides disposed on four sides of the playing platform, an interior side of the stage having a groove; a first clip attached to a bottom surface of the playing platform on a first side of the playing platform with a first tab of the first clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a first side of the stage; a second clip attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform on a second side of the playing platform with a second tab of the second clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a second side of the stage; a third clip attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform on a third side of the playing platform with a third tab of the third clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a third side of the stage; a fourth clip attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform on a fourth side of the playing platform with a fourth tab of the fourth clip slideably disposed within the groove of the stage on a fourth side of the stage. wherein the first, second, third and fourth clips permit expansion and contraction of the playing platform due to environmental changes while maintaining flatness of the playing surface of the playing platform.
 2. The chessboard of claim 1 wherein the plurality of square pieces of wood includes sixty-four squares pieces of wood, thirty-two square pieces of wood having a first color, thirty-two square pieces of wood having a second color which is different from the first color.
 3. The chessboard of claim 1 further comprising four corner clips with each corner clip disposed within grooves of two adjacent sides of the stage, each of the corner clips attached to the bottom surface of the playing platform.
 4. The chessboard of claim 1 wherein each of the pieces of wood define a longitudinal grain direction which are aligned parallel to each other.
 5. The chessboard of claim 4 wherein lateral pieces of wood are adhered to each other so that adjacent pieces of wood are positioned with the transverse grains in a mirrored orientation.
 6. The chessboard of claim 5 wherein all of the pieces of wood are cut to exhibit a radial grain in their transverse sections.
 7. The chessboard of claim 6 wherein the radial grain is defined as an average slope of the tangential grain being 30 degrees or less to a perpendicular line drawn from a major surface of the transverse section of the piece of wood.
 8. The chessboard of claim 1 wherein the groove of the stage is formed in an inner peripheral side of the stage.
 9. The chessboard of claim 1 wherein the stage has a platform engaging surface upon which the playing platform engages.
 10. The chessboard of claim 1 wherein at least two first clips, at least two second clips, at least two third clips and at least two fourth clips are connected to the stage and the playing platform.
 11. The chessboard of claim 1 wherein the plurality of square pieces of wood are fabricated from first and second wood materials which are different from each other and the radial shrinkage between the first and second wood materials is less than 2 percentage points and the tangential shrinkage is less than 2.5 percentage points.
 12. A method of manufacturing a chessboard, the method comprising the steps of: selecting sixty-four square pieces of wood; attaching the sixty-four square pieces of wood together in a 8×8 square configuration to form a playing platform; forming a stage that peripherally surrounds the playing platform; and securing the playing platform to the stage while allowing for lateral expansion and contraction of the playing platform at a different rate compared to the stage to mitigate warping of the playing platform due to environmental changes.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the selecting step includes the step of selecting only wood pieces that exhibit a radial grain on their major surfaces.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the attaching step includes the step of aligning the radial transverse grains in a minor configuration with the immediately adjacent piece of wood.
 15. The method of claim 12 wherein the securing step includes the step of attaching a clip to the playing platform and inserting a tab of the clip into a groove formed in an interior side of the stage.
 16. A playing platform of a chessboard, the platform comprising: sixty four square pieces of wood cut to provide a radial grain in the lateral direction of the transverse sections, the pieces being arranged in an 8×8 pattern with the longitudinal grains parallel to each other, adjacent pieces of wood being arranged so that the radial grains are in a mirror configuration, the pieces of wood being attached to each other.
 17. The platform of claim 16 wherein thirty two of the sixty four square pieces of wood have a first color and thirty two of the sixty four square pieces of wood have a second color and the sixty four pieces of wood are arranged to have alternating first and second colors.
 18. The platform of claim 16 wherein the sixty four square pieces of wood are adhered to each other to form the playing platform.
 19. The platform of claim 16 wherein the thirty two of the sixty four square pieces of wood is fabricated for a first wood material and the remaining thirty two of the sixty four square pieces of wood is fabricated from a second wood material wherein the radial shrinkage between the first and second wood materials is less than 2 percentage points and the tangential shrinkage is less than 2.5 percentage points. 